Right? Left? Center?
Posted by Jim at March 3rd, 2004
As we all step into that hideous mass of discussing politics and flinging random insults that characterizes an election year, I have to ask myself a fairly basic question.
Where do I fit in politically anyway?
I’ve got no excuse for not having a good answer to this. My dad has taught political science at Hope College for my entire life. So it’s not as if I haven’t been exposed to the basic ideas of recent politics.
To the contrary, I have memories of camping that go as follows:
The sun fell beneath the horizon hours ago. I sit, reading a book, while the embers of the campfire glow red. A Coleman lantern dimly lights the picnic table and our family’s tent.
Still, despite the apparent emptiness of the forest, a human voice rings out in the darkness.
It’s Walter Mondale.
Dad has run an extension cord to the nearest outlet, plugged in the radio and is listening to the Democratic Convention.
Ah, the summers of my youth…
According to one online test, I lean left–but I’m not sure if that really describes my perspective well.
I’d describe myself as moderate. I believe free trade is a good thing, but I’m not against protection in some situations–I believe free trade works better for most societies in the long run. I’m for limited government, but think social programs are useful and suspect that (for example) universal health care might ultimately cost less than our current system.
I’m not against investing a person’s social security partially into the stock market.
I am against the death penalty.
I’m also against abortion. I do believe it’s murder, but I’m also against having women abort their babies with knitting needles, hangers, etc… So, I don’t believe a simple ban will work, but I’m not against limiting the period during which it might be done.
I could go on about various positions I have for quite some time, but the gist of the situation is that neither party really fits me. Or, to look at things from a half full perspective, both parties’ moderate wings fit me.
Unfortunately, moderates don’t fit particularly well in either party.
I hear ya Jim. My positions tend to run the political spectrum as well, and I have a number of positions (abortion is one) where I’m in a grey area. The problem, for me at least, is that I’m just as likely to make someone on the left think I have four heads as someone on the right, just witness some of my agreements and disagreements with Ed Heil.
My belief is that you should choose a party and try to affect change from within, therefore I tend not to rule a particular platform as invalid because of disagreements over one or two issues.
Just my two cents.
Edward Hand
I’d agree with you about not letting minor disagreements stop me from supporting a party.
When it comes down to it, I tend to vote based on which of my views I feel most strongly about at the moment. For example, if my enthusiasm for a candidate’s social platform matters more to me than my annoyance with their economic platform (or vice versa), I might well vote for them anyway.
The trouble comes when I’m strongly for (or against) different positions of opposing candidates. At that point, I tend to evaluate based on the chances that a particular view might actually matter. For example, a local candidate’s views on abortion might matter less often than a national candidate (or vice versa).
As a result, I vote split ticket a lot.
Jim Zoetewey